Published in 2021
320 pages
Oceane Campbell is a proud and passionate midwife and writer working, living and mothering her three children on the unceded lands of the Awabakal nation. Oceane’s first book, The Silence Between Us: A Mother and Daughter’s Conversation Through Suicide and into Life (2021), is a raw and original double memoir tracing mother and daughter as they try to understand and rebuild their relationship after Oceane’s suicide attempt as a teenager. Before becoming a midwife in 2016, Oceane completed a psychology degree with honours.
What is this book about?
‘I get changed into my scrubs, relieved for the focus on other women’s bodies, making sure they feel safe, strong and worthy of respect. I know exactly the sort of midwife I want to be: the sort that I need.’
From her first days as a junior midwifery student, through to birthing babies during lockdown measures, Labour of Love follows Australian midwife Oceane Campbell. In her first ten years catching babies she finds the courage to advocate for mothers, save lives, and soothe, grieve with, and celebrate new parents.
As a feminist, woman, mother and midwife, Oceane keenly observes the impacts of birth, and the power dynamics of a system that doesn’t always support women when they’re most vulnerable. 1 in 10 women in Australia report obstetric violence, and 1 in 3 report trauma from their birthing experience. Something needs to change.
Labour of Love explores issues of consent, risk, misogyny and autonomy that surround the monumental transition from woman to mother. Oceane’s stories will leave you in awe of the human body and the miracle of witnessing a baby’s first breath.
A midwife’s stories of birth, babies and learning how to stand up for what she believes – and the women she supports.
